Does the quality of my artwork matter more than marketing?

Honestly? I don’t think the work even matters as much as people think. I’ve seen incredibly talented artists—people who create work so realistic I can’t tell if it’s a photograph or a painting—who don’t sell anything because they won’t do the marketing. And I’ve seen artists whose work I don’t personally like at all who do extremely well because they consistently market themselves. Here’s a perfect example: Van Gogh’s sister-in-law held a show in Paris with all his most famous works—Starry Night, the bedroom painting, the sunflowers—at cut-rate prices. None of it sold. How is that possible if it’s just about quality? The art didn’t change. What changed was the story. She later published a book of Van Gogh’s letters explaining why he painted each piece, what he was thinking, what inspired him. She had another show, and the rest is history. The story changed everything. So yes, you need to be competent and create work people want, but the marketing and storytelling often matter more than the technical quality of the work itself.

---

Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick · Art Business Webinar · 2026-08-21